1 Samuel 21 Then David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech came to meet David trembling and said to him, Why are you alone and no-one with you?

VIN⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ Then David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech came to meet David trembling and said to him, Why are you alone and no-one with you? ² David said to Ahimelech the priest, The king has charged me with a task and has said to me 'Let no-one know anything about it or what I have commanded you'. I have told the young men to go to a meeting place. ³ Now then, what do you have at hand? Give me five loaves of bread or whatever is here." ⁴ The priest answered David: "There is no ordinary bread available; only consecrated bread, provided that the young men have kept themselves from women." ⁵ David answered the priest: "Women have been kept away from us as usual when we go on a mission. The young men's bodies are kept holy even on ordinary campaigns. How much more then are their bodies holy today?" ⁶ So the priest gave him consecrated bread because no bread was there except the Bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the LORD and replaced with hot bread on the day it was taken away. ⁷ Now, Doeg the Edomite, one of Saul's officials, was there that day, detained before the LORD. He was the chief of Saul's shepherds. ⁸ David asked Ahimelech: "Do you have a spear or a sword here? I did not take either my spear or any other weapon because the king's business was urgent." ⁹ The priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine whom you killed in the valley of Elah is here, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it; there is no other except that here. David said, There is none like that. Give it to me. ¹⁰ David got up that day and fled from Saul, and he went to King Achish of Gath. ¹¹ The servants of Achish said to him, Isn't this David the king of the land? Didn't they sing one to another about him in dances saying, 'Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands?'. ¹² David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. ¹³ So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be mad in their presence. He made scratches on the doors of the gate and let his saliva run down into his beard. ¹⁴ Then Achish says to his servants, Behold, you see the man is insane: Why bring him to me? ¹⁵ have I lack of madmen, that ye have brought this one to rave in my presence? shall this [man] come into my house?